al kafi
Published: 2017-03-26
Total Pages: 98
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Introduction:This article has stemmedfrom a question, which was asked about the creation of 'Nafs' and how it relates to 'Ruh'? The topic is extremely complex and has not been dealt with in the previous articles, particlularly when topics of 'Irfan/Maurifat' were explainedwith in the past.1We very much appreciatethis question, as after analysingof Arabic and English translations, it was found that almost in all English translations,including ours, several'Arabic' terms are not translated properly. However, theless than ideal translation of the some of the Islamic terms,would not significantly affect the general reader but will certainly not help in developing a'higher level Maurifat'(understanding the Divine Instructions -mysticism.)The compilation of the Ahadith in this articleis by no means complete as only a fraction of the Ahadith dealing with the subject are cited.Also for the ease of the readers, the Islamic'terms'under discussion, are highlighted in lengthy Ahadith (as most of the readers will only be interestedin the sentences in which these Arabic terms are explained). Some of the lengthy Ahadith related to secondary relevance (to the topic) are cited in the Appendicesto ensure that the articleis infortmative but concise.On Ruh, Nafs, Qalb and Aql'Page 4of 98Introduction:This article has stemmedfrom a question, which was asked about the creation of 'Nafs' and how it relates to 'Ruh'? The topic is extremely complex and has not been dealt with in the previous articles, particlularly when topics of 'Irfan/Maurifat' were explainedwith in the past.1We very much appreciatethis question, as after analysingof Arabic and English translations, it was found that almost in all English translations,including ours, several'Arabic' terms are not translated properly. However, theless than ideal translation of the some of the Islamic terms,would not significantly affect the general reader but will certainly not help in developing a'higher level Maurifat'(understanding the Divine Instructions -mysticism.)The compilation of the Ahadith in this articleis by no means complete as only a fraction of the Ahadith dealing with the subject are cited.Also for the ease of the readers, the Islamic'terms'under discussion, are highlighted in lengthy Ahadith (as most of the readers will only be interestedin the sentences in which these Arabic terms are explained). Some of the lengthy Ahadith related to secondary relevance (to the topic) are cited in the Appendicesto ensure that the articleis infortmative but concise. In addition, some other related terms, which aredirectly relatedto the 'Nafs' and 'Ruh' are also covered, including'Qalb' and 'Aql' (usually translated as heartand wisdom/intellegence) 'Waaswisa' (inspiration from Iblis) and 'Fitna' (mischief, strife).The terms Al-Hikmah (wisdom) and the 'Sadoor' (chest)are explained in the appendices.We will revise this article in the near future in the light of thecomments from our readers as well aswhen more Ahadith of Ahl Al-Baytaswsare archived. We will also compile a separate article explaining some other Islamic termsin the near furture, insha Allahazwj.Summary:The Arwah (plural of Ruh) were created 2,000 years before the bodies2. The first 'Ruh' which was blown On Ruh, Nafs, Qalb and Aql'Page 5of 98Behold! the Lord said to the angels: 'I am about to create man, from sounding c